Lincoln Center’s new Claire Tow Theater, with its channel glass enclosed elevator, is a winner of Architect Magazine’s 2012 Annual Design Review. The competition celebrates the best of American architecture, selecting winners from projects completed during 2012.

H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture boldly developed the Clare Tow Theater, home to Lincoln Center Theater LCT3 on the roof of the Vivian Beaumont Theater. To create access to the theater, H3 Hardy punched through the roof of the iconic Eero Saarinen-designed structure to create two elevators wrapped in translucent Lamberts channel glass from Bendheim. The unique structural properties of the glass permit 23’ tall spans of glass, inviting volumes of daylight in while providing dramatic glowing images at night.

Close collaboration between H3 Hardy, Bendheim Wall Systems, and the glazier, A-Val Architectural Metal Co., brought the design of maximum glass with minimal frame elements to life. The SGCC-certified tempered and heat-soak tested glass channels have the characteristic strength to span openings 23’ tall and withstand high wind loads. Provided with a low-e coating, the channel glass bolsters the building’s thermal envelope and reduce energy costs.

In evaluating the award contenders, the Annual Design Review jurors recognized the projects striving for clarity of statement regarding their relationships to their surroundings. The LCT3 Theater is an excellent example of how iconic architecture can be changed without damaging its identity.

About Bendheim Wall Systems, Inc.

Bendheim Wall Systems, Inc. is North America's leading channel glass wall systems supplier. The company’s award-winning projects include Steven Holl’s Bloch Building/Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Shaw Center for the Arts by Schwartz/Silver, and the Boston ICA by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Bendheim’s partnership with Glasfabrik Lamberts, the largest privately held cast glass factory in Europe, spans eight decades.